Conclusions

10.1163/ej.9789004175969.i-230.27

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Chapter Summary

This section provides the concluding remarks of a source-critical and rhetorical study of 2 Kings 18-19. The study provides a thorough literary analysis of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib narrative, which serves to: reassess source-critical delineations, allows a better understanding of the claims of the text, and helps assess the usefulness of the text in historical reconstruction. In light of the literary unity of the passage, a new re-reading of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib narrative was undertaken. This close reading found that a siege of Jerusalem was not referred to in the text. It reveals that no siege language was employed in the narrative, except where Isaiah prophesies that there will be no siege (2 Kgs 19:32). The re-reading of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib narrative also found a causal link explaining the Assyrian expedition to Jerusalem, despite tribute paid.